Kubu
by circa1994
Summary: The king's grip on the Pridelands begins to falter. All because of the actions of a most unlikely creature.
1. Chapter 1

The hot sun rise into sky above the meerkat colony, miles away from mighty Pridelands. A caw from a hawk monetarily interrupted the solemn proceedings occurring below.  
" Timon Berkowitz, you have been found guilty of recklessly endangering the colony. Your sentence is banishment.", stated the wizened, old meerkat. " Take the convicted to the edge of the territory and release him." Timon's mother tearfully hugged her son, little more than a pup, for what would likely be the last time. " Good bye, my son."  
" Good bye, Ma.", Timon said, barely concealing his own tears. The guards pulled the young meerkat away from his mother and began marching towards the border. Eventually, after walking for what seemed like hours, the group halted. " This is the border.", the leader stated. " You come back arcoss it on pain of death." With that, the guards marched back to their burrows, leaving Timon to continue his journey away from his old home in solitude.  
Meanwhile, another young creature, a red skinned warthog piglet, ran for life from an irate lioness. " Halt in the name of King Ahadi!", she roared. The warthog continued his attempts to escape the predator, dashing through the tall grasses of the plains. Panting, he began to tire as he had been running for the better part of the day. " All this because I drank from some puddle that supposedly such inferior beings like me aren't allowed?", he thought with disbelief. Momentarily distracted by his thoughts, he tripped on a stone and began to roll down the hill.


	2. Chapter 2

Pumbaa got to his hooves, groaning. Looking up to see the lioness charging down the steep hill after

him, the young warthog swiftly continued his flight. " Cease your fleeing, you cowardly pig!", Mlinzi, one

of King Ahadi's bodyguards, shouted angrily. She had to catch and kill this upstart before he infected the

rest of the animals with the idea that they could make their own decisions about their lives. Such

thinking could destroy a kingdom. She followed the treasonous porcine into boneyards at the edge of

the Pridelands. Leaping over the skeleton of a long dead rhino, she realized she had lost sight of the

little warthog. Rising to her hind legs, she unsheathed a shasqua from her belt. Scanning about for the

villainous freethinker, she clambered over an elephant's skull. " Come out now and I'll give you a quick

death, traitor.", she said loudly. Not hearing a replay, she continued her search for the young

Pumbaa.

Meanwhile, Timon, continuing his travels away from his former colony, come across the edge of

the boneyards. " May as well walk through here.", he said. He scurried underneath the tusk of

one of the skeletons. As he slinked through the skeletons, he began to talk to himself. " I attempt to

think out of the box and what does it get me? Expulsion, that's what it gets me.", he said. He continued

climbing up the pile of bones. As he neared the top, he paused, sniffing the air. _Lioness.,_ he thought, _And_

 _warthog. Very close._ He peeked over the top of the bones, only to be very nearly trampled by a

red-skinned warthog piglet. The boar, noticing Timon, attempted to stop but ended up slipping on the

loose bones and careened into the little meerkat. The two of them rolled down the pile until they struck

the ground at the bottom. " What's the big idea, running into me like that?!", Timon shouted angrily.

" She's after me!", the piglet shouted. " What?", Timon said looking up at the hill. Mlinzi appeared over

the top of the hill. Upon seeing Timon with her quarry, she shouted, " I see that you are in league with

this worthless meerkat, pig!" Timon scowled at the lioness. " Worthless meerkat?", he said. " Lady I'll

have know I have plenty of worth." Mlinzi answered with loud roar. " Uhh, what say we just leave?",

Timon said, swiftly climbing onto the warthog back. " Run piggy, run!", Timon shouted. " Piggy?",

Pumbaa asked. " JUST RUN!", Timon shouted. The warthog complied and started running, with Mlinzi

hot on their heels. The two fled further into the tangle of bones. After a few minutes they had managed

to lose the lioness. " So, what are you wanted for, my porcine pal?", Timon asked. " Those lions say I

drunk out of a pond that was reserved for the king only, or something like that.", Pumbaa answered. "So

what are you doing out here? Don't most meerkats live in colonies?", the warthog questioned. " Well, I

sort of got kicked out of my colony.", Timon answered. " For what?", Pumbaa asked as they continued

walking. " For 'recklessly endangering the colony' as the council put it.", Timon said. " What does that

mean?", Pumbaa asked. " It means I wandered off and when they went to look for me a hawk almost

ate the search party, and my name is Timon by they way." " My name is Pumbaa and the lioness is trying

to kill me, er us because I drank out of a pool of water reserved for just lions.", Pumbaa said. " What

kind of backwards place would do that?", Timon asked. " I don't know its name. I just know they're big

and powerful.", Pumbaa answered. At that moment, Mlinzi leaped down in front of the pair. " Now you

die!", she screamed. Pumbaa ran away from the feline menace. _What can I do to help get both of us out_

 _of this mess?_ Suddenly, remembering the " unusual traits "he had inherited from his grandfather, he

conjured up a small ball of light between his hands and flung in the face of their attacker. The two

outcasts promptly retreated into a small opening underneath a bone pile while she was momentarily

blinded. " You can use magic?", Pumbaa asked astounded. Magic was not unheard of, but it was not

exactly common either. " Yeah, my mom says I inherited it from my paternal great-grandfather.", Timon

answered. By now Mlinzi had regain her vision and looked around for the traitors. _Great Kings damn it. I_

 _have lost them!_ , she thought angrily. The lioness returned to the entrance of the Bone Yard. _They will_

 _have to come through this opening if they wish to escape._ , she thought. _I will catch them when those_

 _cowardly scum try to escape._ She concealed herself behind a small pile of bones and waited.

Timon & Pumbaa began to plot their exit from the Bone Yards. Timon used his as of yet weak

mystical powers to conjure up a fly to scout their surroundings. After a few minutes, the magically

created insect returned and, via mental link, reported to Timon. " The lioness is hidden just over

the pile of bones to the southeast.", he said. " There is a cliff overlooking this pile of bones with a

conveniently placed boulder atop it." " Well how are we going drop said boulder onto her?", Pumbaa

asked, guessing the meerkat's plan. " I'll lead her into position and you shove the rock onto her.", the

meerkat said. " Okay.", Pumbaa said. " Maybe we should get some weapons first." , the boar said.

" Where are we going to find weapons here?", Timon asked. " I've seen other warthogs use sticks,

stones, and bones for weapons.", Pumbaa said. He walked over to a nearby pile and selected part of

a small buffalo horn. Slicing his forearm with his tusk, he began coating the horn with his blood.

"Why are you doing that?", Timon asked. " I've heard other warthogs say it makes them unbreakable.",

Pumbaa claimed. After sometime, the piglet had manage to create a pair of what could be called

gauntlets out of scrapes of hide and the lower part of a buffalo horn. Slipping them over his forehooves,

he made a few punches to get a feel for his new weapon. Satisfied, he began to braid a sling out of a few

strips of hide. When he had finished, he looked over at Timon. " Are you not going to arm yourself?", he

asked. The meerkat said, " I have not skill at any sort of weapon other than my magic." " Well then, let

us move on with the plan.", Pumbaa said.

Mlinzi slashed a decaying leg bone in two in frustration. " Where are you two worthless,

treasonous scum!", she roared angrily. " Up here, kitty.", Timon shouted from the top of one of the

bone mounds. " Now you die, worthless meerkat!", the lioness shouted as she charged up the mound.

Timon quickly scurried down the hill and towards the cliff with Mlinzi hot on his heels. They soon

Reached the cliff where the trap had been set. Timon dove into the small hole he had dug underneath

a bone pile. Mlinzi, slashing furiously at the entrance to the burrow, failed to notice Pumbaa slowly

pushing a large rock towards the cliff edge. " Come out you cowa-", CRUNCH!

Timon exited his hiding place and looked at the scene in front of him. " Wonderful job,

Pumbaa.", Timon said. Pumbaa slid down the less steep areas of the cliff and joined Timon at the

bottom. Pumbaa beamed with pride at their achievement. It was customary for warthog warriors to

keep some form of trophy after hard won fight, or so he had heard. Lifting up the lip of the dead

lioness, he looked at her fearsome canines. " Hmm.", Pumbaa thought.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: In answer to the question posted by Faith, thanks for the review by the way, kubu is Swahili for rebellion. And yes, this does take place during the tyrant Ahadi's reign.

Pumbaa had just finished affixing the now deceased lioness's canines to his left gauntlet.

Experimentally folding the two long teeth over his fist, he made a few slashes and thrusts. Grinning, he

folded the fangs back onto his forearm. Timon looked up at Pumbaa and said, " Now can we go before

someone finds this mess?" " Okay, Timon.", Pumbaa answered. The two friends headed in a northerly

direction. After a few hours of walking, the two began to grow hungry. " We need to find some food

soon.", Pumbaa said. " I know that, Pumbaa.", the meerkat replied. The two noticed a small herd of

antelope drinking from a nearby stream. " There is some meat for us to eat.", Pumbaa said. Timon

looked at Pumbaa. " I've heard of warthogs eating meat, but I've never actually seen one do it.", the

suricate said, interested. " Us porcines will eat just about anything.", the warthog replied. " I suppose I

will go scout out the area and when I find a promising target, I will alert you.", Timon said slinking off

towards the herd. Observing the various members of the herd, he saw a young one limping on an

injured foreleg. Conjuring up a fly, he sent it to tell Pumbaa that he had found a suitable target. The

warthog followed the fly to Timon's location. " That injured little one, right there.", Timon said, pointing

at hurt fawn. " Follow me.", the meerkat said. The piglet complied, following Timon to a patch of tall

grass near the herd. " Now, I'll cause a panic and you rush in a grab the hurt one in the commotion, got

it?", Timon asked. " Got it.", Pumbaa replied. The two took up their positions, with Timon advancing

towards the herd and Pumbaa concealing himself in the tall grass. When Timon reached his position, he

conjured up a small sphere of light, like the one he used to distract Mlinzi, and threw in the face of one

of the antelope. The startled creature took off in a blind flight, causing the others to stampede in panic.

In the confusion, the lame fawn was separated from its mother. _Now's my chance!_ , Pumbaa thought. He

rushed out from his hiding place and grabbed the small fawn in his wide, tusked mouth. The doomed

antelope squealed in pain as her side was pierced by the sharp tusks of the boar. Pumbaa began to

vigorously shake the stricken creature until it stopped moving. Timon ran up to Pumbaa and

congratulated him. " That was wonderful buddy, now let's eat." The settled down to their hard earned

meal. Neither of them noticed a nearby hornbill blanch in fright. " I must warn the king of these

unnatural poachers.", she said to herself, before taking flight towards a large rock formation rising out of

the savanna.

The meerkat and warthog ripped ravenously into the grazer's carcass. " Ahh, it feels good to

have one's belly full, don't it?", Timon asked Pumbaa. " Ya, it dothes.", the boar said with his mouth full.

" Drop the meat, poachers!", a loud voice said. The two looked up to see a large male lion, dressed in

fine cloth and holding a gold and ivory gripped grosse messer. Timon at first felt a healthy amount of

fear, that was then followed by a sense of outrage. How dare this pompous looking stranger tell him to

drop the meal that they rightfully caught. " Poachers? We caught it so that makes it ours.", Timon

proclaimed. " Yeah, we caught it, we get to eat it.", Pumbaa agreed. The lion's whiskers trembled in fury.

" How dare you speak to me in such manner! I am King Ahadi!", he roared. The lion charged forward,

swinging his sword at Pumbaa. The warthog ducked the blown, only to be seized by the king's left paw.

" This is the end for you, traitor!", he bellowed, raising his sword in his right paw to finish of Pumbaa.

Timon, seeing his one and only friend in mortal danger, conjured a sphere in his hand and flung

it at the king's face. The magically created orb shattered on contact, covering the king's face in an odd,

glue-like substances. He was temporarily blinded by the meerkat's unexpected action, forcing him to

release his grip on Pumbaa to try and clear his eyes. Timon and Pumbaa swiftly retreated into the tall

grass. After he had cleaned most of the glop from his eyes, he looked around for the traitors. Incensed

at their disappearance, he roared at the sky. " I will have your heads for this, scum!"

Timon and Pumbaa stopped running and leaned against a tree, panting. " That lion was

furious.", Pumbaa said, gasping for breath. " Yeah.", Timon agreed. He looked up at the sky noticing the

sun was beginning to set. " Well buddy, we had best find a safe place to hole up until morning.", the

meerkat advised. Pumbaa nodded in agreement. Looking about, Timon spotted a large acacia bush

nearby and decided it would be as good as any other place. " Let's dig underneath those thorns and

hope no ones decides to dig under as well." " Okay.", Pumbaa said. Scooping up the earth with his

powerful hooves, Pumbaa soon had a small, shallow burrow dug. The two of them clambered in and got

comfortable. " Well, goodnight Pumbaa.", Timon said. " Goodnight Timon.", Pumbaa said before drifting

off to slumber.


	4. Chapter 4

King Ahadi walked back to the fortification surrounding Pride Rock. The impala guards saw him

and saluted with their pilum. " Hail King Ahadi of the Pridelands Empire!", they shouted. He entered

without a word, seething with rage. He turned to Zuzu. " Go find Rafiki and bring him here."

" Yes, sire.", the hornbill answered. The impala took of in the direction of the enormous tree know as

the Tree of Life. After a short while, she returned with the slightly crazy primate in tow. " You called,

sire?", Rafiki asked. " Fix my paw, shaman.", Ahadi ordered. As the mandrill bandaged his paw, he

turned a higher ranked individual amongst his guards. " You, take a squad and bring me the head of this

piglet and meerkat pup.", he ordered angrily. " Yes master.", the guard replied. " You four, follow me.",

the impala ordered. The squad saluted their king with their pilum and marched down the road to

confront the traitors.

Timon awoke to the morning sun, uneasy. He sniffed the air. _Impala, leather, steel.,_ he thought.

The meerkat kit looked down at the path near to the edge of brush that they had sheltered in for the

night. There were five impala garbed in red leather armor and carry heavy shields. " This ain't good.", he

mused upon seeing the icon of a snarling lion emblazed on the face of the scutum. He promptly shook

Pumbaa into wakefulness. " Uhh… wha?", Pumbaa asked sleepily. " We've got five unfriendly looking

animals with weapons heading our way!", Timon said urgently. Pumbaa looked at the squad on the road

and looked back at Timon. " What are we going to do, Timon?", he asked. " I'll tell what we're going to

do. Now listen up…"

The squad continued its march down the path in search of the traitors. Suddenly, a sling stone

shot out of the undergrowth and struck the impala at the head of the group in the forehead. He

crumbled to ground, his skull depressed. The rest of the squad quickly assumed a defensive line facing

the direction the projectile had come from. " Show yourself!", one of the remaining soldiers shouted. He

received an answer in the form of sling stone denting in his skull as well. The three survivors reacted by

throwing their pilum into the brush in the direction the projectiles had come from.

Pumbaa caught on of the javelins while evading the other two. Drawing his arm back for the

throw, he launched the missile at his nearest enemy, scoring a hit on his shield. The point of the iron

missile broke through the shield and the pilum, as per its design, bent at where the point meets the

shaft. The impala tried to raise his off balance scutum to counter the warthog that was charging out of

the warthog that was charging out of the undergrowth, right at him.

Pumbaa cannoned into the impala's broken line. Pumbaa slammed a hornshoud right hook into

the temple of an impala, killing him, while Timon conjured up a large wasp to distract the other two. The

tactic worked and one of them didn't notice Pumbaa driving the lioness teeth into his belly. The sole

surviving impala drew a plumbatae from behind his shield and flung it at Pumbaa, who ducked the short,

weighted dart. The impala drew his gladius from its sheath and the two combatants began to circle.

The impala made a downward cut at Pumbaa, who easily parried the blow. The impala then made a

centerline thrust at Pumbaa's belly. The warthog skillfully caught the sword by the blade and levered it

from his opponent's grasp. Surprised by his sudden disarmament, the antelope was swiftly put on the

defensive. Pumbaa made several heavy slashes at the impala, one of which struck the metal boss of the

scutum. The blade, being of questionable quality, snapped. Discarding the ruined weapon, the warthog

tackled the impala and grasped him by the throat. The soldier struggled as his airway was cut off.

Pumbaa then twisted his neck, severing his spinal column. " We won, buddy!", Timon said,

Congratulating them on their victory. " Let's get out of here before more show up.", the meerkat

advised. Zuzu, having seen what had just transpired, took to the skies to inform the king.

" Milord, the squad you sent to eliminate the two traitors has been killed.", Zuzu said, bowing

before her king. " What?", the king said, seething with rage. " How has the army fared in its other

venture?", he asked, barely controlling his anger. " The army has been far more successful in their other

mission, milord.", the majordomo answered. The king's anger abated somewhat at this answer.

" Dismissed.", he told Zuzu. She again bowed and flew off. Ahadi leaned back to relax a bit. He may

have two upstarts threatening his absolute power, but at least that nest of insurrection had been wiped

out.

Author's Notes: Tune in next time to meet the OCs. As always, thanks for reading and click the review button, please. Thanks for your reviews, Faith. To answer your question, Rafiki has been in service to the monarchy since Mohatu, Ahadi's predecessor. His magical prowess is limited to rituals, largely involving healing, warding, and divination. He has nothing in his repertoire that is any real use in a battle field scenario. If he were to go against Timon, despite Timon being at his weakest, he would be unlikely to win.


	5. Chapter 5

Timon and Pumbaa continued their journey towards the smoke that Timon had spotted in the

distance. Smoke meant fire, and fire likely meant some form of civilization. " I hope they've food

where ever that smoke is coming from.", Pumbaa said. They hadn't had much of a chance to eat before

that bastard of a king had interrupted them. _I wish we had taken few bites out of those impala.,_ Timon

thought. As they crested the hill, they looked down in horror and shock at the sight that greeted them.

Thick, black smoke bellowed from the remains of several ruined structures. Timon wrinkled his nose at

the stench of corpses and charred remains. " What in the name of the ancestors below happened?",

the meerkat said. Suddenly, the two heard groaning from underneath a pile of rubble. The warthog

and meerkat walked over to the pile and began lifting up what they could from the pile. _What is that I_

 _smell?,_ Timon thought, _It seems familiar._ As more was excavated from the pile, they smell became

stronger and clearer. " Hold on, Pumbaa, I smell hyena.", Timon said. " Help.", a voice from within the

pile said weakly. " What do we do, Timon?", his friend asked. Timon thought for a minute. Deciding he

couldn't leave a fellow feliform in danger, he said, " Let's start digging." After a couple minutes, the two

unearthed a coughing female spotted hyena, not too much older than they. " Hi their, if you could not

eat us after we get the rest of those rocks off of you, we'd greatly appreciate it.", Timon said. They

finished clearing the rest of the debris from atop the hyena. Freed from what could have easily been her

tomb, she thanked the two. " My most heartfelt thanks, strangers.", she said, using the short ikiwa spear

that clutched in her paw to help her to her feet. " My name is Hamaki." " Hello, angry one, I'm Timon

and this is Pumbaa.", Timon said. " Can you help me find the other two members of my mismatched

pack?", she asked. " Why not?", Timon said. _We've already saved one potential predator, why not_

 _more?,_ he thought sarcastically. Sniffing the air, despite all the smoke, he managed to pick up the scent

of two more hyenas through the haze. Following the meerkat's keen nose, the group quickly located a

striped hyena and another spotted hyena. " There you two dumbasses are, where were you?", Hamaki

shouted. The two looked up, surprised. " There you are Hamaki. Good to see you.", the striped one said.

" Chacha here lost your scent trail." " I did not, Tuli.", the spotted male said, irritated. " Help!", a vulture

flying over head shouted down at the five of them. " What do you need?", Tuli asked. " My two friends

are trapped underneath a collapsed building.", she said. " Led the way.", Hamaki said. The group

followed the bird to one of the smoldering piles. " This one!", the vulture said urgently. Between the

meerkat, warthog, and hyenas, they quickly uncovered a ratel and painted dog. " Thanks for finding

help, Nyuni.", the ratel said. " Your're welcome, Kuuma.", Nyuni said. She looked at the rest of their

combined group. " I suppose we should introduce ourselves.", she said.

" My name is Epesi.", the painted dog said. " I am Kuuma.", the ratel stated. " You may call me

Nyuni.", said the vulture. " What happened here?", Pumbaa asked. " King Ahadi grew tired of us thinking

for ourselves, so he sent his armies in the Pridelands to eliminate us.", Chacha said. " Let us be thankful

that the bulk of his forces are fighting in the jungles across the sea.", Tuli said. " We must avenge this

massacre!", Kuuma loudly declared. " Yes!", Chacha agreed. " Calm down everyone, we need to think

first.", Timon advised. " There are only eight of use. We have no chance of succeeding in a head-on

attack on King Ahadi." " Then what do you propose we do, Timon?", Nyuni asked. " Can you find us a

small, nearby barracks for those impala soldiers?", the meerkat asked. " I can do that.", the vulture

replied. Nyuni took to the air to search for the barracks. " Okay, what's everyone got to play with?",

Timon asked. " I've my short spear and panga.", Hamaki answered, gesturing to the curved machete

sheathed on her belt. " I have my shield, khopesh, and this knife.", Chacha said, removing a ring-lock

clasp knife from his belt pouch. " I'm a fairly good shot.", Tuli stated, holding up his recurved, composite

short bow. " And if I miss 'em, I got this.", he said, unsheathing a sickle. " How 'bout you two?", Pumbaa

asked, gesturing to Espesi and Kuuma. " I have two Khyber knives and a small shield.", the canine

answered, unsheathing his blades and twirling them about. " I got these.", Kuuma said showing off the

knife strapped to his arm, as well as spiked rings on his fingers, a spiked metal bracelet on his left wrist,

and a flat steel crescent on his right. " And this knobkerrie.", he said, holding up the club. " That rotted

piece wood?", Chacha said derisively. " It is unbreakable." , the ratel defended. " Let me see that.",

Pumbaa asked Kuuma. As soon as he took the pitted and rotten club in his hoof, the weapon became as

new. " Wow.", the ratel said in amazement. " Yeah, it's probable unbreakable.", the warthog concluded,

handing the cane length stick back to Kuuma. As soon as the weapon left his hoof, it became of rotted

appearance once again. " Hey, what just happened?", Chacha asked. " It appears to have once been a

warthog's weapon.", Timon said. " Alright, everyone ready for this?" They all nodded.

The midday sun beat down on the plains. Nyuni had returned, telling group about a small, lightly

defended guard post nearby. The group followed the vulture to their target. Looking up at the small,

ramshackle lookout post, Timon turned to his allies. " See that wagon near the outpost with the jugs on

them? The ones with a fire emblem on them?"

They all nodded. " That is likely greek fire. If my assumptions are correct, we can use that to burn the

building." " And if you're wrong?", Chacha asked. " Well, we will be in trouble.", the meerkat answered.

The group snuck towards the outpost. " Why do you think there is greek fire in those jugs, Timon?",

Hamaki asked. " They have ballistae on top of the fortification and those containers are shaped as a

typical missile would be.", Timon said. " I suppose we should let Tuli make the opening blow as he has a

bow.", Hamaki said. " Good idea, Hamaki.", Chacha said.

" What a wonderful day it is.", an impala said to his comrade. " Yes, comrade, it is a great day to

live under glorious King Ahadi. No need for we the people to do our own thinking. Our wise and great

king will provide us with our needs as it benefits our great and glorious monarchy.", the other replied. At

that moment, an arrow shaft suddenly sprouted from the neck of one of them, while the other was

felled by stone to the temple. One of the soldiers atop the fortification looked out in surprise as eight

animals rushed out of the tall grass and charged towards them. " We're under attack!", he shouted out,

before his throat was pierced by another arrow.

Pumbaa breathed hard as he charged into the fray. Swinging out his armored fist, he struck one

of his enemies in the temple, felling him easily. Chacha slashed an impala across the throat with has

khopesh as Hamaki thrust her spear into another's belly. Pumbaa and the two hyenas grapped hold of

the cart and began to push it through the open entrance of the wooden fort. One of the impala leaned

over the top of the fort and drew his arm back to throw. Suddenly, a wasp appeared and flew into his

face and began stinging him repeatedly. Gasping in pain and shock, he dropped his pilum and clutched

his swelling face. " Thanks Timon.", Pumbaa said. " No problem buddy.", Timon replied. By now they had

managed to push the cart and its flammable payload into the small structure. Pumbaa smashed a few of

the pots with his fist before Chacha grabbed a flaming torch off the wall. The group stepped back a few

feet before Chacha threw the torch into the cart. The naptha caught fire and was soon burning bright.

" Alright guys, let's get out of here! Retreat, retreat!", Timon shouted. The group beat a hasty retreat

back into the bush as the impala, forgetting them, began throwing dirt and sand onto the burning cart.

 **Author's Notes: Thanks to Bearticguy7 for favoriting my story. Read and review, folks. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.**


	6. Chapter 6

" Sire, the morning report.", Zuzu said. " Speak.", Ahadi ordered. " Ummm…one of your outposts

was attacked, sire.", she said. " What?!", the king said. " Some traitors killed a few of your soldiers and

attempted to set fire to the outpost." " What traitors?" " The meerkat and warthog, sire.", Zuzu

answered. " As well as three hyenas, a ratel, a painted dog, and a vulture." " Ahh some of those

treasonous species have finally united against me. Why my predecessor was such a close alley to those

inferior beasts is beyond me.", Ahadi grumbled." How badly damaged was the outpost?" " Barely

singed, sire.", Zuzu answered. " Sire, the allied prides wish to speak with you.", she said. " Go back and

tell them to shut up and stop questioning their king and master!", the king roared. The hornbill bowed

and took of to inform the king's allies of his words. " How dare these inferiors question their king and

god!", Ahadi grumbled to himself.

" So what's the plan, meerkat?", Chacha asked. " It's Timon, and for now we're just going to lay

low until things cool off.", Timon said, breaking of part of a reed. The group had concealed themselves in

an acacia thicket for the night after the attack on the outpost. " So, how much damage do you think we

inflected?", Kuuma asked. " I don't know.", Timon answered. " There's a market nearby.", Nyuni said.

"Maybe we could pick up some gossip?" " Good idea, Nyuni.", Timon said. " You just drop me off there

and I'll loiter around and see what every one is saying." " And if you're spotted, Timon?", Pumbaa asked

in a concerned tone. " Watch this.", Timon said. The meerkat's body began to change before the group's

startled eyes. Within a few seconds, the creature that stood before them was no longer a meerkat, but a

Slender Mongoose. " Wow!", Epesi said in astonishment. " You can change shape?", Kumma asked.

" No, I just create the illusion that I am something else.", Timon answered. " What happens if I touch

you?", Chacha said. " I bite part of your finger off.", Timon said. The group laughed at Timon's joke.

" But seriously, if some animal did touch you, what would happen?", Hamaki asked. " Well, this is only

creating the illusion of me being a slender mongoose, so I'd still feel like a meerkat.", Timon said passing

his hand through the part of his tail that the spell had created as though nothing were there. " But since

us mongeese all have similar body shapes, I don't think anyone will notice." _So long as they don't touch_

 _my tail.,_ he thought. " You should probably acquire some clothes as well.", Tuli said. " You're probably

right.", Nyuni said. " When I've flown over that place all animals below me wore clothing of some sort."

" Alright then let me find something that will pass for clothing.", Timon said. Picking some nearby grass,

he began to weave it into a sort of kilt. " Nice hula skirt.", Pumbaa said. " See anything else lyin' around I

could use for clothing, ya great grinning pork roast?", Timon asked, annoyed at his friend's chuckling.

 _The chances of me ever wearing getup like this again is a million to one.,_ he thought. " Alright, I need you

to drop me off near to the market, someplace out of sight, and I'll see what I can pick up.", he told

Nyuni. " Got it. Climb on.", she said. He clambered up onto her back and she took off. Timon looked

down at the steadily shrinking landscape below him. It was quite exhilarating.

As they neared their objective, Timon spoke to Nyuni. " Make sure you drop me off a ways

away from the market. Don't need to draw any attention to ourselves." She nodded in agreement. She

glided down to the earth a reasonable distance from the little creatures' marketplace. " Stay in the

area, I may need a quick exit. I'll send a fly to tell you to pick me up.", he said as he jumped off. " Good

luck.", Nyuni said as she tool off. Timon then began walking up to the open air bazaar. " Halt.", one of

the soldiers said, eyeing the meerkat turned mongoose. " State your business, spineless scum." The

mongoose's lip twitched up in the faintest hint of a snarl. _Spineless scum?,_ he thought. " My business is

in the market.", he said bluntly. " There aren't many places that serve your kind here.", the root rat said.

" Then I shall visit the ones that do.", Timon said. " You getting cheeky with me, mongoose?", he said,

drawing a baton from his belt. " No sir.", Timon said. _I could conjure something up to rip your face off_

 _with a wave of my hand, you fat crownie.,_ he thought. " Then be silent.", he said, jabbing him hard in the

stomach with his baton. Timon gasped with pain. It took every once of self control he possessed to

attack the guard. " Let him through.", the guard said. Timon regained his composure and entered the

settlement. Stepping out of sight behind a building, he conjured up a fly and sent it to scout the town.

He then began to head over towards the message boards to see what news the town talking about.

 _Dreck!,_ he thought upon seeing a wanted poster with the likeness of him and Pumbaa sketched on it.

 _It's a good thing I can change my appearance.,_ Timon thought. " Wanted for treason, insurrection, and

attempted regicide.", he mused quietly. " They're certainly worth quite a bit if you caught them." Timon

glanced over his shoulder at the speaker, a coal black mamba. " I believe you're right.", he replied. He

left the message boards and headed down the street towards a building with sign over it depicting a

sword. _Arms shop, perhaps?,_ he thought. He entered the building. His assumption was correct. Many

different weapons of as many different cultures lined the walls. " We only sell to nobles and the

kingdom. Get you worthless mongoose!", the mole rat smith said angrily. The beast advanced towards

Timon with an iron mace in his hand. Timon swiftly conjured a wasp behind his aggressor. " Ahhh!", the

mole rat screamed as he repeatedly struck the wasp with his weapon. " Gahh!", he screamed as the

wasp's stinger impelled his foot. A few more blows of the weapon's flanged head and the conjured

insect was no more. The smith lay on the floor, gasping in pain. He noticed not that Timon was gone,

along with one of his karambits. _Monarchist mamze.,_ Timon thought as he walked away from the scene,

his stolen karambit tucked into his grass kilt. He decided to head towards the bar across the street, to

see if he could learn anything from the drunken tough wagging of the patrons. " Did you hear about the

King offering the hyenas a place in the Pridelands if they fight for him in the war?", a ground squirrel

said to the jerboa seated next to him. " He won't keep his word. Those stupid hyenas will die in that

jungle for nothing.", the jerboa said laughing. " I hear he will be moving troops to eliminate a village of

hunting dogs near here next week." Timon's ears perked up at this. " I also heard of a band of renegades

attacking an outpost of the king!" " Really?", the ground squirrel asked. " Don't worry I'm sure they will

be dealt with as easily as.." The jerboa suddenly turned around and struck Timon in the head with his

cane, flooring him. "… that worthless mongoose! Ha ha ha!" The other patrons of the bar joined in

laughing. " Ha ha …urk!", the jerboa gasped as his throat was slashed from ear to ear. The rest of the bar

patrons gasped in fear and stared at Timon, bleeding from a gash on his head from where the metal

capped stick had struck him, as well as the blood stained karambit clutched in his hand. _Time to go.,_ he

thought, dashing out the door. As he ran down a back alley, he conjured up a fly and sent to alert Nyuni

to his plight. " He went that way!" Timon heard from behind him. He rounded a corner and changed his

form to that of a Marsh Mongoose. As he strolled down a back alley, he took a piece of cloth from a

clothesline and wiped the blood from his knife. Discarding the bloody cloth, he stuck his weapon back in

his belt. Slowing down he leisurely walked towards the city exit. " Have you concluded your business

here, mongoose?", the guard at the gate asked. " Yes.", he answered. They opened the gate and Timon

exited through it. _So much for gathering intelligence,_ he thought. Timon continued walking down the

path until he saw Nyuni flying down towards him. " That took less time than expected.", she said as she

landed. " Well, there were unforeseen complications.", Timon answered, changing his form back to that

of a meerkat. " Related to that gash on your head?", Nyuni asked. " Yes some crownie struck me on the

head with a mace, so I cut him from ear to ear.", he said. " But fortunately, while I was in the bar, I hear

someone talking about the king sending his troops to attack a village of hunting dogs next week." " Shall

we go warn them?", the vulture asked. " Yes, I believe we should.", Timon answered.


End file.
